Cutlery



March 2, 1937. w. H. TAKAHASHI CUTLERY Filed Aug. 19, 1936 ATTORN EYS Patented Mar. 2, 1937 pire erre GFFICE CUTLERY Application August 19, 1936, Serial No. 96,883

1 Claim.

This invention relates to cutlery and has for an object to provide an attachment for neatly storing a supply of toothpicks on the back of a table fork or spoon in such manner that the 5 toothpicks will be exposed through a Window in the front of the fork or spoon so that a glance at the front of the spoon will indicate when the supply must be replenished.

A further object is to provide a pocket for l holding the points of the toothpicks and a loop adapted to straddle the butt ends of the toothpicks to removably conne the toothpicks in place on the fork, spoon or other utensil.

With the above and other objects in view the l invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a fork equipped with a toothpick holder constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the fork and toothpick holder shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of a spoon equipped with a toothpick holder constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 4 is a crosssectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 1 showing the loop for holding the butt ends of the toothpicks in place.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional View taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 1 showing the pocket for holding the points of the toothpicks in place.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, Il designates a fork and II designates a spoon each having the handle I2 provided with a longitudinal groove I3 produced by deforming or pressing the material of the article of cutlery outwardly from the rear face beyond the front face of the handle.

In carrying out the invention a pocket I4 is formed on the rear face of the spoon or fork adjacent to the restricted narrow end of the han- (Cl. Sil- 22) dle, and this pocket may be formed of a separate piece of metal soldered or brazed or otherwise rigidly secured upon the butt end and upon the side edges to the back face of the spoon so that the strip of material bridges the longitudinal groove IS and forms a neat receptacle to receive the points, preferably, of two toothpicks I5 and secure the same to lie wholly within the 1ongitudinal groove in the handle, flush with the back face of the handle as indicated in Figure 2.

In further carrying out the invention, a loop i6 is struck from the material of the handle to extend across the longitudinal groove I3 near the wide end of the handle as illustrated. By striking the loop from the material of the handle a window I'l is formed in the front face of the handle to expose the supply of toothpicks so that by simply glancing at the front face of the handle it can be determined when the supply must be replenished.

The toothpicks are inserted through the loops I6 and pushed lengthwise of the handle until the pointed ends of the toothpicks lodge in the pocket I4 whereupon the toothpicks are compactly confined against the rear face of the handle and cannot be accidentally dislodged yet may be easily removed by grasping the handle with the forenger against the front face and the thumb against the toothpicks near the pocket, then pushing with the thumb lengthwise of the handle to force the toothpicks out of the pocket I4 and through the loop I6 to project beyond the Wide end of the handle as will be understood.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

The combination with cutlery, of a pocket on the back of the handle of the cutlery, and a loop struck from the material of the handle of the cutlery above said pocket and forming a window in the front of the handle, said pocket and said loop being adapted to secure a supply of toothpicks to the handle, said window exposing a portion of said supply through the front of the handle.

WILLIAM H. TAKAHASHI. 

